30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Cheap Cool Cards #24: 1989 Topps Traded Ken Griffey Jr.

I've discussed this before, but I'll say it again. I often associate players with specific decades, more than their overall career achievements. Ken Griffey Jr. is one of those guys.

During the 90's, there are only a few hitters who were in his class. The Kid simply dominated hitters at the plate. Here is a look at his numbers and where he ranked among his peers from 1990 to 1999:

Runs Scored: 1,002 (3rd in MLB)

Hits: 1,622 (6th in MLB)

Home Runs: 382 (2nd in MLB)

RBI's: 1,091 (2nd in MLB)

Slugging Percentage: .581 (3rd in MLB)

And during that 10 year span, he made the AL All-Star team10 times & won the Golden Glove Award10 times. He was also in the top 10AL MVP Award voting 7 times, and won it in 1997.

Best of all, he did it with a smile on his face.

Which is why I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add his 1989 Topps Traded rookie card to my collection when I found it online for a dollar (free shipping). Yep... 100 pennies for the rookie card of a sure fire hall of famer.

There might be plenty of reasons to dislike the Junk Wax Era, but here's a good reason to love it.

By the way, just in case you're wondering... Mark McGwire led the 90's in Home Runs & Slugging Percentage. But three different players topped the 90's in Runs, Hits, and RBI's.

Can you name the three players and the corresponding categories?

I'll make things a little interesting and turn this into a contest, so comments will be hidden until the contest ends. Entries will be accepted until Saturday night (9pm PST). After that, we'll compare people's responses. If you guess all three players correctly, I'll enter your name into random.org for a prize package that will include a smörgåsbord of cards featuring at least one card (insert, rookie, parallel, or promo) from each of the players listed in this post.

By the way, if you're reading this post on CCW and want to participate in the contest... please head over to the actual blog post and enter there. Entries left on CCW will not be counted towards the prize package.

Wow... that's an excellent topic for a debate, because I like both. I'm an old school kind of guy, so I've always liked the classic feel that many Topps products offer... including their 1989 design. Plus I prefer the photo Topps used over Upper Deck's.

However... it's hard to deny the impact the 1989 Upper Deck set had on the hobby. And their selection of having him on card #1 is a pretty cool bonus.

About Me

I've been collecting cardboard off and on since the early 80's. I'm presently collecting. But who knows what the future holds in store for me.
One thing is for certain... I'll have my blog to help relive some of my favorite hobby moments.